The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1887-05-05
manitomof pilot.
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1887.
MEXICAN NOTES.

is a typical Mexican village in the temper
! ate region, about 4 1000 feet above the
! sea, IN the state of Morelos, which adjoins
| the state of Mexico on the south. 1t is
reached by a railway-eighty miles in
seven hours-which climbs out of the
valley eastward, and then runs south and
west, making an almost exact half circle
to it's destination. In Mexico the rail
ways must run where the mountains
permit.
The first part of the way lies over the
fiat plain, through the chindnlpaS, or
little patches Of truck gardens, narrow
canals and bitches, through overhowed
ground with tufts of marsh grass, and
between the two lakes. The whole
region is alive with teal ducks, which
rise from the lagoon and whirl away in
tiocks as the train passes. On the
I slightly elevated roads donkeys laden
with vegetables (the patient beast which
witty woman calls "the short and
simple animal of the poor''), Indian
women, also bent to their burdens, short,
with fiat faces, brown legs, small feet,
and small hands-the aristocracy of the
soil-and Mexican laborers in ragged
serapes and broad straw hats, file along
| toward the city. Soon abrupt elevations
IN the plain are reached, picturesque
| heights with churches, and the foot hills
are entered. The journey grows more
| interesting as we ascend, the adobe viii
| lagos have more foreign character. and
the mixed population becomes more
picturesque IN costume and habits. TIE
train is made up Of first, second, and
third class cars. The Mexican men i'll
the first class, yellow half breeds, are
gorgeous III array, wearing enormous and
heavy high crowned, broad brlnmed
hats, loaded with silver and gold bullion,
trousers braided down the seams or
thick sewn with coins or buttons OF
silver, every man with pistol ostenta
tiously strapped on his waist, and many
of them carrying guns. These gentle
men are gong to hunt at some hacienda
N the hills, and at the stations where
they alight there is great scurrying about,
getting INTO rlckety carriages, mounting
heavily caparlsoned little horses, which
ddget and curvet. There is an amusing
'ir Of bravadO about it all.
The third class cars have four parallel
benches running from end to end, and
are packed With motley thrOng-Indiau-
looking Mexican women III blue ribosas,
plenty of children aud babies, men IN
soiied serapes and big hats, everybody
eating some odd mess. At all the
stations the train makes long halt, and
| the sides of the cars swarm with buck
| sters, mostly women aud boys, offering
| the sapotas and other tasteless fruits,
| tam0IeS and other indescribable edibles,
| ices (hdvored and colored snow, pink
drinks family savored with lines, and
| pulque. The tanaat is favorite com
pOslte all over the republic. 1t consists
Of chopped meat, tomatoes, aud chile
| rolled III tortilla. The tortilla, perhaps
! 1t lS necessary to say, the almost uni
versal country substitute for bread is
| cake made of maize, and about the size
| II large buckwheat cake. Its manu-
| facture IS one of the chief occupations of
the women. In almost every hut and
| garden one can hear the grinding and
| the patting of the tortilla. Seated on
| the ground, the woman has beside her
| dish of soaking grains of maize. In
| front OF her Is carved stone, and upon
| this she mashes the maize with stone
roller held in both hands until it is
paste. This paste the moulds and skill
fully pats into shape, and lays upon a
piece of sheet-iron to bake over char
coal fire. Too often it is like Ephraim
"a cake not turned"
at ana before Wa reached Amecameca,
an elevation of over 8, 900 feet, the twin
| snow mountains rose III view, and there
| after lorded it over the landscape in all
our winding way. From Amecameca
the ascent of Popocatepetl is usually
! made, and the cone shows very grandly
across the ravine from its elevation.
| This is the village of sacred shrines and
noble groves, much resorted to by
| pilgrims and excursionlsts. At the
sacred festival in May as many as &C, 900
| worshippers assemble here. At Ozumba,
where the road begins to descend, we
breakfasted very we'll for fifty cents, in a
rude shanty, on eggs, rice, beefsteak,
! three or four other kinds of meats and
stews, sweets, pulque and black coffee
| The pulque is best in these high regions.
1t is a viscous milk white fluid, very
| wholesome and sustaining, and would
be called most agreeable drink if ii
tasted good" In fact it tastes, when
it has been few days fermented, like a
| mixture of buttermilk and sour cider
| But many strangers become fond of it.
| The older it grows the more Intoxicating
it is. As the reader knows, probably, it
it is drawn from the maguey plant, call
| ed by US the Century" which grows on
| these elevations to a great size, and Is
| the cleanest- limbed and most vigorous
and wholesome-looking product of the
region. When it natures it shoots up q
| stout spike ten or twenty feet high from
the centre. bearing brilliant orange
flowers. When the plant is ready TO
tap, the centre stalk is cut out, and the
sap collects in the cup thus formed. 1t
is dipped out, or sucked out by tube,
| and when first drawn is mild, cool, and
refreshing. In about three days it be-
| gins to ferment. As 1t is often carried
to market on the backs of the natives in
| pig or goat skins, it gets a disagreeable
| flavor The maguey plant has many
uses. 1t is eaten cut up and preserved
like melon rinds. Its long tough fibre
is very extensively used i'll making ropes
and cordage. The end of each leaf
terminates in hard, sharp, black thorn.
| Break off this thorn and strip down the
ibres attached to it, and you have a
capital needle and thread for coarse sew
| ing. The muleteers use it to mend their
| saddles and broken harness straps.
| What encouragement is there to industry
when nature furnishes in one plant drink,
| food, needles and thread, and rope for
lariats?-Harper'S Magazine.
|
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